After she stabbed him and he lay still on his couch, she did not call medical personnel, unilaterally deciding he was beyond help, the judge said.

Velazquez filed two written statements with the court before sentencing, in which she said she did not intend to kill her friend, regretted it, but still claimed he threatened her and she tried to get away. “I had no choice but to act rapidly,” she said.

Her lawyer, Paul Tomlinson, asked for a five-year sentence, less pre-trial custody. Crown prosecutor David Boulet urged the judge to impose 10 to 12 years.

Brown, a divorced 56-year-old father of two described by a family members as a former animator, was found dead in October 2010 by a concerned friend in his home on Munro St., near Dundas St. E. and Broadview Ave.

Post-mortem toxicology tests showed a very high alcohol level of 356 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood in his body.

Family and friends noted that Brown’s drinking was a problem and he could be a “bad drunk” — aggressive but not violent, the judge noted.

Velazquez would come over and cook and help him in return for marijuana, and was used to his sharp tongue, the judge found.

A few days after the stabbing, the Mexican-born woman took an Amtrak train to South Bend, Ind., where she stayed with family.